Artist donates to Columbus police a portrait of K9 Havoc, wounded in shooting
A local artist and a police advocacy group have partnered to raise money for a Columbus K9 police dog wounded in the line of duty.
Columbus artist Randy Nguyen gifted portraits of K9 officer Havoc to the Columbus Police Department at a Monday morning news conference in the Public Safety Center. Prints of those portraits are now on sale help pay for Havoc’s recovery.
“As a gift from Randy, the actual paintings will be donated,” said Jed Harris, chairman and co-founder of Back Columbus Blue, “That’s a gift from him to the Columbus Police Department.”
Harris said signed, color prints of the acrylic painting of Havoc are available for $50 apiece, and signed black & white prints, from a different charcoal drawing of Havoc, are available for $45 apiece. All proceeds will be donated to CPD for Havoc’s medical expenses and care.
People wanting to buy a print may contact Harris via social media or at 706-392-1738. Harris said they are seeking retail locations to display, stock and sell the prints, and they are working on plans for an event where people may buy them.
Havoc was wounded in a June 23 officer-involved shooting that killed a Dollar General homicide suspect and injured a police officer
Havoc’s handler, Cpl. Brent Wilson of the Columbus Police Department, told reporters after the news conference the paintings “mean everything” to him and his family, as does the support he, his family, and Havoc have received from the community.
“Havoc is part of my family,” he said. “He belongs to Columbus Police Department, but he is my best friend. He’s been with my family for going on a year now. Anywhere, everywhere I go, Havoc’s right there with me. So, knowing the support that we have received going through this incident has been absolutely amazing.”
Wilson said Havoc is recovering at home with him and his family.
“He’s doing good,” Wilson said of Havoc. “It’s still a long road to recovery. There’s a lot of unknown, but as of right now, everything’s going to plan.”
Havoc is one of several K9 officers who serve as patrol dogs for the department.
Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis said Havoc and the other patrol dogs ride around as a partner with police officers, assisting them in their jobs.
“They do building clearances, they get out and help with crowd control, they certainly look for drugs and explosives, and they also do things just like Havoc was doing that particular day,” Mathis told reporters, “so they go through a lot of very extensive training, and they are considered police officers.”
Mathis said none of the department’s K9 officers are “100% bite dogs,” meaning they can go into elementary schools, be around people and be petted and serve as good public relations tools for the department.
Then, when they get to work, they work, he said.
“Without getting to the details of the investigation, I can tell you right now, from everything I know about that had Havoc not been there on scene, it’s a good likelihood more police officers would have gotten shot and possibly killed,” Mathis said.
This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 4:37 PM.
